Parliament seeking to fingerprint Canadian journalists

Canadian journalists looking to join the Parliamentary Press Gallery may soon be forced to undergo fingerprinting and site access security screening conducted by the RCMP.

At the general meeting of the Parliamentary Press Gallery on Friday, gallery executives presented members with a plan from the House of Commons’ Corporate Security Office to begin enhanced screening for new members in spring 2017.

The decision stems from an independent security assessment and internal audit conducted in 2015 which prompted the Board of Internal Economy to task the Corporate Security Office with developing a proposal.